James Potter and the Four Marauders
by Oceanbrease
Summary: James Potter's first year at Hogwarts. Rated T just in case. I apologize in advance for any slight straying from the bits and pieces previewed in the final HP book.
1. Chapter 1

**James Potter and the Four Marauders**

Chapter 1

James swept his hand through his already-messy charcoal hair, pushed his glasses up his nose, and looked around the crowded station appraisingly. Finally, he was off to Hogwarts. His trunk, however, didn't seem to be so excited to be leaving. No amount of his father's heaving or tugging would remove it from the back of the car.

"Amelia, will you come and look at this? It must be jinxed or something. We're going to be late, and I can't… Seem… To… Get it!" With a final heave, Oliver Potter yanked the trunk out of the car, proceeding to spill the contents all over the pavement. With a sigh, his wife Amelia waved her wand and James' clothes, books, quills, parchment, and brand new color-changing ink flew back into his trunk, all folding and compartmentalizing themselves neatly. "Thanks, darling. What would I do without you?"

"Not much, Oliver. You're about as clumsy as a drunk gnome."

James was not amused. He had five minutes to catch the most important train of his life and, without putting an end to this dawdling, he was going to miss it. "Not to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a fascinating conversation or anything, but I'm going to miss my train if we don't leave soon…" James trailed off as both of his parents jumped, looked around, checked their watches – which had suns, stars, and moons instead of numbers and hands – and set off at a near-run, dragging James' trunk, owl, and boarding pass along with them. Grinning, James jogged after them, passing staring Muggles left and right, and not pausing to appear inconspicuous.

It was 11:58 when they reached the barrier to platform 9 3/4, and James could barely speak for worry, which was a first for him. The three of them took the barrier at a run, and stood, panting hard, on the platform. A crimson steam engine stood before them, belching smoke over the excitable crowd. Owls were screeching, rats were squeaking, cats were meowing. James could barely suppress a laugh at this sight. From what he could see, this was his kind of place. His father handed Merlin – his tawny owl, bought as an early birthday present – and his trunk to a black-capped porter striding along the platform, and James watched as his trunk, along with his protesting owl, was loaded onto the Hogwarts Express, waiting for him to pick them up and take them into a compartment.

"James? James! Come over here for a second. You haven't said goodbye yet, and I need to give you a goodbye kiss."

"Mum! I'm going to miss my train!" James could feel his cheeks reddening as he saw a boy, this one sporting his new Hogwarts robes and looking down his nose at him. James could imagine the boy sniggering at him from out of the window. He decided to ignore they boy for the moment as his mum came over, kissed him, and bent down to give him a pep talk of sorts. He had given her and his father all of their goodbye kisses back at his house, to avoid early embarrassing starts. It seemed that his mother, however, had forgotten this unspoken agreement. James wished he could have told her not to kiss him, but there was a look on her face that stopped his verbal protest in its tracks.

"James, I'm so proud of you. Say hello to Professor Slughorn for us. We'll write to you every week, and don't forget to make new friends and keep your robes clean. You can have a friend over for Christmas if you'd like. Oh, Jamesie, I'll miss you so much!" Amelia Potter's eyes started tearing up. The last thing James wanted was to let the pale boy see his mother cry. He gave her one last hug, just as the train started to move. He wrenched the door open, swung himself inside, and set off down the train to find himself a compartment and a band of followers.

He located his trunk, and started to look into the different compartments, trying to find a first-year group. All of a sudden, the train lurched around a bend in the track, sending James, his trunk, and what remained of his dignity into a compartment door. He peeled himself off, ignoring the sniggers of the older occupants, and dragged himself all the way down the train. Finally, he came to the last compartment. There was only one person in it, a small girl with a tear-streaked face and flaming red hair cascading down her back in bright waves of color. He gave up on finding a truly empty compartment and plunked himself down across from her. "Don't cry. It's not that bad. Did you break up with your boyfriend or something? What's your name? Mine's Potter. James Oliver Potter, to be precise."

The girl glared at him so angrily that he sat there, stunned. He could already tell that this girl, whoever she was, was his type. He tried again, this time sticking with the basics. "I'm James Potter. Who are you?"

The girl sniffed, wiped her eyes, and stared at him for a while before answering. "Lily. Lily Evans."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Hello, James Potter. Hello, Lily Evans." James and Lily both whipped around, looking for the owner of the voice. James recognized the boy immediately. He had been the one sniggering at him through the windows of the train earlier. The boy stuck out a hand. "I'm Sirius Black. I couldn't help seeing your mum's admirable display of affection. It almost makes me wish that my parents cared. They left me at King's Cross by myself and told me to try not to come back for Christmas."

James had nothing to say. This boy, Sirius, or whatever his name was fascinated him. Recovering from the initial shock of already meeting two people he would like to know better, he shook the boy's hand and invited him into their compartment. He seated himself opposite James, grinning, and turned back to the door. His eyes instantly hardened: "What do you want?" There was an air of dislike about Sirius's tone now, one that James was interested in.

Another boy poked his head around the door. He, like Sirius, had shoulder-length black hair, but that was where the similarities ended. The boy had extremely sallow skin, a hooked nose, secondhand Muggle clothes, and enough grease in his hair to light it on fire. James knew instantly that this boy was not his type at all.

"I'm Snape. I was wondering if my friend was here. Have you seen Lily Evans?"

James turned to look at the still-sniffling girl in the corner. He nudged her, and when she looked up, he raised his eyebrows questioningly at the boy.

"Hello, Severus." Lily's face crumpled again and she began to sob harder.

Snape's eyes instantly softened, looking from her tear-stained face to the sodden pile of tissues piling up beside her. "Lily? What's wrong? Did they –" he shot a glare at James and Sirius. "Did they do something to you?"

James was about to open his mouth, but Sirius beat him to it. "Why don't you take your girlfriend and leave, _Snivellus_?" His last word had enough venom to kill, but Snape just returned his glare with cold dislike, stepping over Sirius and James' outstretched legs and settling himself beside Lily, putting his arm around her shoulder. James was pleased to notice that Lily shrugged it off and scrunched further into her corner.

Snape just wasn't one to give up, however. Looking at the bit of Lily's face visible from behind her bright red hair curtain, he asked, "Lily, what's up?"

"Severus, Tuney found the letter. She won't talk to me. She called me a… She called me a freak. I wish we had never taken it."

James was the only one looking at Snape. There was an odd expression in his face, something of a struggle. He seemed to get over his problem fast, however, because he had an answer almost immediately. "She's just a – " For some strange reason, James almost knew what he was going to say. He nearly leapt up to defend this 'Tuney' (and maybe score a kiss in the process) when Snape caught himself just in time. "Forget about it, Lily. Can you believe it? We're going to Hogwarts. I hope you and I are in Slytherin together! That would be great, wouldn't it?"

Sirius must have felt that the tension was growing, or else he was just tired of hearing Snape talk about someone other than himself. "So, James my boy… Where do you want to end up after the Sorting?"

James turned a bit green at the mention of the ever-mysterious Sorting, but pulled himself together just in time – Snape was looking at him a bit funny. He had tried to weasel the truth about the sorting from his parents, but every time he asked, all he got were silent looks. He wished he had an older sibling to comfort him – and tease him – all about going to Hogwarts. He sighed, wishing he wasn't an only child. Seeing Snape's eyes on him again, James decided to put on a bit of a show. "Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!" James struck a ridiculously 'proud' pose, but toppled sideways onto Sirius as the train lurched around a particularly sharp bend in the track. Sirius barked with laughter, and James attempted an overly extravagant bow from his awkward position on the floor. As he got back up, he could hear Snape mutter something to Lily and snigger. He whipped around glaring at him, "Got a problem with that?"

Snape's sallow skin flushed dully, and his fathomless black eyes flashed. "No… Not if you'd rather be brawny than brainy, anyways." His greasy hair fell over his eyes again, and James felt any thin strand of affection for Snape snap instantly.

Sirius stood up with a strange expression on his face. "Where are you hoping to go, Snivelly, seeing as you're neither?" Snape whipped a wand out of his faded shirt and pointed it straight at Sirius. Sirius, in turn, pulled his from his black robes. "Wanna go, Snivellus? What do I get when I knock you flat?" James suspected that Sirius's family had taught him at least couple of curses.

Lily, looking up from her corner, saw Sirius standing up. She seemed to come to the same conclusion as James had. She grabbed Snape's arm and, picking up her own stuff, started dragging Snape out of the room after her. Snape, however, still had a few things to say. "You'll pay for this, Black. I'll take you on anytime."

Sirius, however, had nothing more to say to him. He merely turned his back and carried on his conversation about the Hogwarts houses with James.

"Gryffindor, huh? My parents want me to be Slytherin. My whole family has… Imagine their faces if I make it into Gryffindor." James could almost picture two pale and haughty people, somewhat like Sirius but more dark looking, shaking their heads in enraged horror. "I s'pose Ravenclaw wouldn't be that bad, but imagine if I got put in Hufflepuff. I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James grinned… Sirius was turning out to be a better posse member than he thought. Two more, and he'd be perfect. At that moment, two people arrived from different ends of the train, collided, and a round-faced, heavyset boy with rat like teeth and small watery eyes fell onto James' new trainers.


End file.
